Citation Nr: 0811482
Decision Date: 04/08/08 Archive Date: 04/23/08
DOCKET NO. 04-10 509 ) DATE
)
)
On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Montgomery,
Alabama
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD).
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
Michael J. Skaltsounis, Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran had active service from September 1977 to January
1985, and from February 1991 to March 1991.
This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board)
on appeal of a September 2003 rating decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in
Montgomery, Alabama, which denied the above claim.
Although the claims folder reflects the Board's receipt of
additional information from the veteran in February 2008
without waiver of the RO's initial review of this evidence,
as a result of the Board's decision to remand the claim, the
Board finds that efforts to obtain a waiver of this
consideration are not necessary.
The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management
Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the
appellant if further action is required.
REMAND
The Board has carefully examined the RO's efforts to obtain
the veteran's personnel records from each of his periods of
active service, and finds that while the RO diligently
pursued the veteran's records from the appropriate agencies,
there is an indication that the personnel records from his
first period of active service are incomplete. More
specifically, the veteran asserts that he was attached to the
1st Battalion, 9th Infantry when he was exposed to his
primary stressor in Korea in December 1979, and with the
exception of photographs supplied by the veteran and the
service medical records for that period, there are no records
that confirm his attachment to that unit. Consequently, the
Board finds that further efforts should be made to obtain
additional personnel records for the veteran from his first
period of service, and that based on correspondence contained
within the claims folder, this additional search should be
directed to both the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)
and the Department of Veterans Affairs (RMC), P.O. Box 5020,
St. Louis, MO 63115-0020.
In addition, the record contains multiple diagnoses of PTSD,
and the veteran has now supplied more detailed information
with respect to the stressor he contends he was exposed to
while attached to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Division
during a mission in the Korean DMZ in which casualties
resulted from the detonation of a land mine. Although the
veteran's most recent account of the incident discloses the
names of two fellow service members that were killed in this
incident as opposed to one service member as previously
reported, and neglects to report the name of the fellow
service member who lost a leg in the explosion as was also
previously reported, the Board finds that this information,
together with previously provided information, is
sufficiently detailed to warrant further development. There
is also no indication that the U.S. Army and Joint Services
Records Research Center (JSRRC) was ever contacted for the
purposes of obtaining the unit records for the 1st Battalion,
9th Infantry, and based on the information provided by the
veteran, that search could be limited to the period of
December 1, 1979 to February 1, 1980. Consequently, this
claim must also be remanded so an effort can be made to
obtain these records. In the event that this or another one
of the veteran's claimed stressors is verified, the veteran
should then be provided with a psychiatric examination to
determine whether he has PTSD that is linked to the verified
stressor or stressors.
Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Arrangements should be made to
obtain any additional VA treatment
records for the veteran, dated since
December 2005.
2. An effort should be made to obtain
additional personnel records for the
veteran from his first period of
service, and this request should be
directed to both the NPRC and the
Department of Veterans Affairs (RMC),
P.O. Box 5020, St. Louis, MO 63115-
0020.
3. An effort should be made to contact
JSRRC located at 7701 Telegraph Road,
Kingman Building, Room 2C08,
Alexandria, VA 22315-3802, and request
that JSRRC research the unit history of
the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry
Division for the period of December 1,
1979 to February 1, 1980, to determine
whether it sustained any casualties
during this period as a result of the
accidental detonation of a land mine by
a patrol in the area of the Korea DMZ.
4. In the event that a stressor is
verified, the RO/AMC should note that
for the record and schedule the veteran
for a VA psychiatric examination. The
claims folder must be made available to
the examiner for review.
The diagnosis should be in accordance
with the American Psychiatric
Association's: Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-
IV (DSM-IV). All necessary special
studies or tests are to be
accomplished.
The examiner must express an opinion as
to whether the veteran meets the
criteria for PTSD contained in DSM-IV,
and if he meets such criteria, whether
PTSD can be related to the stressor or
stressors reported by the veteran and
established as having occurred during
the veteran's active service.
The examiner must provide a
comprehensive report including complete
rationales for all conclusions reached.
5. Finally, readjudicate the claim on
appeal. If the benefits sought on appeal
remain denied, the veteran and his
representative should be provided a
supplemental statement of the case, and
given the opportunity to respond thereto.
Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board, if in
order. The Board intimates no opinion as to the ultimate
outcome of this case. The appellant need take no action
unless otherwise notified. The appellant has the right to
submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or
matters the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12
Vet. App. 369 (1999).
This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law
requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of
Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals
for Veterans Claims for additional development or other
appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner.
See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2007).
_________________________________________________
P.M. DILORENZO
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the
nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a
decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.
38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2007).